Posted by sschwartz on June 5, 2006, 2:20 pm
Hi Folks,
Newby here. I"m a 47 year old man who finally convinced his wife to let
him buy a bike. I was thinking about something like a Yamaha Virago
250. Of course the salesman wants to put me on a V star classic 650. I
sat on both, and the 650 obviously feels a LOT bigger - kind of scary
for a brand new beginner. I am 5'4" (yeah really short), and weigh 150
pounds. I do have a bit of motorcycle experience - riding a tiny one in
college a lot of years ago. I do plan on takin gthe MSF course (or
equivalent).
My wife tends to agree about the 250, but is a bit worried that if I do
take the 250 on the highway at all, it will be significantly less safe
because of lack of reserve power. She tends to think if I take a 250 on
the highway, I will die immediately. We live outside of New York City,
and to get anywhere serious, I would want to go on a highway, if only
for short trips.
My gut reaction is to go with the 250. If I love it and feel good, I
can trade up. This seems to be the advice of blogs on beginning
motorcycling I have read. So money aside, how much harder would it be
to learn on the 650? If I could be comfortable with that from the
start, then obviously I have a much more capable machine. Do I go with
gut reaction from sitting on them in the shop?
Thanks for the help.
Steve
Posted by .p.jm on June 5, 2006, 2:26 pm
On 5 Jun 2006 11:20:57 -0700, sschwartz@aecom.yu.edu wrote:
>Hi Folks,
>Newby here. I"m a 47 year old man who finally convinced his wife to let
>him buy a bike. I was thinking about something like a Yamaha Virago
>250. Of course the salesman wants to put me on a V star classic 650. I
>sat on both, and the 650 obviously feels a LOT bigger - kind of scary
>for a brand new beginner. I am 5'4" (yeah really short), and weigh 150
>pounds. I do have a bit of motorcycle experience - riding a tiny one in
>college a lot of years ago. I do plan on takin gthe MSF course (or
>equivalent).
>My wife tends to agree about the 250, but is a bit worried that if I do
>take the 250 on the highway at all, it will be significantly less safe
>because of lack of reserve power. She tends to think if I take a 250 on
>the highway, I will die immediately. We live outside of New York City,
>and to get anywhere serious, I would want to go on a highway, if only
>for short trips.
>My gut reaction is to go with the 250. If I love it and feel good, I
>can trade up. This seems to be the advice of blogs on beginning
>motorcycling I have read. So money aside, how much harder would it be
>to learn on the 650? If I could be comfortable with that from the
>start, then obviously I have a much more capable machine. Do I go with
>gut reaction from sitting on them in the shop?
>Thanks for the help.
>Steve
Without question, go with the 250. And consider a used one, ~
5 years old. Plan on a year or 2 of staying off major highways, etc -
just learn to ride. Plan on trading up in a year or 2 when you know
yourself and bikes better.
--
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Posted by walt peifer on June 5, 2006, 3:06 pm
> Hi Folks,
> Newby here. I"m a 47 year old man who finally convinced his wife to let
> him buy a bike. I was thinking about something like a Yamaha Virago
> 250. Of course the salesman wants to put me on a V star classic 650. I
> sat on both, and the 650 obviously feels a LOT bigger - kind of scary
> for a brand new beginner. I am 5'4" (yeah really short), and weigh 150
> pounds. I do have a bit of motorcycle experience - riding a tiny one in
> college a lot of years ago. I do plan on takin gthe MSF course (or
> equivalent).
> My wife tends to agree about the 250, but is a bit worried that if I do
> take the 250 on the highway at all, it will be significantly less safe
> because of lack of reserve power. She tends to think if I take a 250 on
> the highway, I will die immediately. We live outside of New York City,
> and to get anywhere serious, I would want to go on a highway, if only
> for short trips.
> My gut reaction is to go with the 250. If I love it and feel good, I
> can trade up. This seems to be the advice of blogs on beginning
> motorcycling I have read. So money aside, how much harder would it be
> to learn on the 650? If I could be comfortable with that from the
> start, then obviously I have a much more capable machine. Do I go with
> gut reaction from sitting on them in the shop?
> Thanks for the help.
> Steve
>I'm 48 years old and been riding since I was 8, I Ride every day to and
>from work or wherever I need to go even in the worst weather ( I live in
>Florida) and have owned a ridden a wide variety of only Yamahas. Comfort on
>the bike is the main thing. Just went through this with getting my wife's
>first bike.You must feel as if you are in charge, comfortable and able to
>control the bike. Part of the "feel" of the bike is the power available,
>parts is how "heavy" does it feel. My 86 Venture Royale with all the bag
>and fairings felt lighter than my old 78 500 DOHC street bike. My new Royal
>Star cruiser feels even lighter that my old AT3 125 cc dirt bike, This all
>has to do with the way I sit and the center of gravity of the bike,
>position of the bars, the foot pegs and so forth.Try different combinations
>of peg and handle bar positions.You'll find that the 250 cc is more than
>enough power for most of your riding needs if you stay of the interstates.
>It will be as fast or faster off the line, lights and intersections, as 90%
>of the traffic around you. As far as being "safe' the best think I can
>recommend is always wear decent clothes, and good eye and head protection.
>Finally always drive as if you are invisible and no one can see or hear
>you. Never assume that the guy in the next lane knows you're there.Be aware
>of the environment also, I dumped the Star the day before Christmas on the
>ramp from the interstate (55 mph or so I was slowing) someone had spilled
>some oil or something and the bike went sideways, I let go and kept the
>bike in front of me as we slide down the ramp. A few folks helped me and
>the bike back upright, I limped the back back home, one peg gone and the
>lights wiped off one side. Got in my car and drove to work. some bruises
>and a bit of road rash on one arm ( goood clothes, good helmet). Fixed the
>bike back up over the holiday and been riding every days since then.
I think that you'll find that as you get comfortable on the bike and are
ready to move up, you'll be to skip most of the intermediate steps, and go
from the 250 to say the Royal Star cruiser or even the new twins like the
"warrior"
Having said that You'll always loose when trading up so that by the time you
get to a 650 or 1100 or bigger you'll have spent way more than buying big to
start with.
Posted by NZMSC on June 5, 2006, 5:55 pm
"walt peifer" wrote in
> Having said that You'll always loose when trading up so
> that by the time you get to a 650 or 1100 or bigger you'll
> have spent way more than buying big to start with.
Then again, you're likely to be still alive and physically
capable of trading up...
--
Allan Kirk,
Megarider Organisation,
(Saving motorcyclists' lives since 1971 )
www.megarider.com
Posted by Serge Zoritch on June 5, 2006, 3:10 pm
sschwartz@aecom.yu.edu wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> Newby here. I"m a 47 year old man who finally convinced his wife to let
> him buy a bike. I was thinking about something like a Yamaha Virago
> 250. Of course the salesman wants to put me on a V star classic 650. I
> sat on both, and the 650 obviously feels a LOT bigger - kind of scary
> for a brand new beginner. I am 5'4" (yeah really short), and weigh 150
> pounds. I do have a bit of motorcycle experience - riding a tiny one in
> college a lot of years ago. I do plan on takin gthe MSF course (or
> equivalent).
>
> My wife tends to agree about the 250, but is a bit worried that if I do
> take the 250 on the highway at all, it will be significantly less safe
> because of lack of reserve power. She tends to think if I take a 250 on
> the highway, I will die immediately. We live outside of New York City,
> and to get anywhere serious, I would want to go on a highway, if only
> for short trips.
>
> My gut reaction is to go with the 250. If I love it and feel good, I
> can trade up. This seems to be the advice of blogs on beginning
> motorcycling I have read. So money aside, how much harder would it be
> to learn on the 650? If I could be comfortable with that from the
> start, then obviously I have a much more capable machine. Do I go with
> gut reaction from sitting on them in the shop?
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
> Steve
How comfortable a bike is to you is directly proportional to your
confidence level. The Virago 250 will cruise at highway speeds (60 mph)
but with limited reserve speed and not as solid as the V Star 650.
However, it is much more forgiving when you make a mistake. I have
taught and helped numerous people with their first bike. My advise is
still the same. Get a small bike to begin with (one that you can easily
pickup by yourself if you drop it) and build that confidence and
experience. If you buy on value, you will be able to trade/sell your
first bike without loss and you will be better equipped to decide what
kind of a bigger bike you want. If you decide, after trying the smaller
bike, that motorcycling is not for you, you won't have as much invested.
Good luck with you decision and ride safe.
Serge
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>Newby here. I"m a 47 year old man who finally convinced his wife to let
>him buy a bike. I was thinking about something like a Yamaha Virago
>250. Of course the salesman wants to put me on a V star classic 650. I
>sat on both, and the 650 obviously feels a LOT bigger - kind of scary
>for a brand new beginner. I am 5'4" (yeah really short), and weigh 150
>pounds. I do have a bit of motorcycle experience - riding a tiny one in
>college a lot of years ago. I do plan on takin gthe MSF course (or
>equivalent).
>My wife tends to agree about the 250, but is a bit worried that if I do
>take the 250 on the highway at all, it will be significantly less safe
>because of lack of reserve power. She tends to think if I take a 250 on
>the highway, I will die immediately. We live outside of New York City,
>and to get anywhere serious, I would want to go on a highway, if only
>for short trips.
>My gut reaction is to go with the 250. If I love it and feel good, I
>can trade up. This seems to be the advice of blogs on beginning
>motorcycling I have read. So money aside, how much harder would it be
>to learn on the 650? If I could be comfortable with that from the
>start, then obviously I have a much more capable machine. Do I go with
>gut reaction from sitting on them in the shop?
>Thanks for the help.
>Steve